Charles Phan Brings on Michelle Mah to His Team

While at the Meals On Wheels Star Chefs event on Sunday, I had a chance to intercept chef Charles Phan, fresh off his James Beard induction into the lineup of Who’s Who of Food and Beverage in America. I asked him about his plans for chef Grace Nguyen’s replacement at Out the Door Bush, and he said they are going to just manage it internally, and promote from within as necessary.

The bigger news, however, is that he has brought on Michelle Mah to his team. Mah just started yesterday, and will be working to understand Phan’s systems and doing some menu development at the commissary. Phan is being tight-lipped about the upcoming Valencia Street restaurant, but he did mention there is a hearing on the 19th, so I expect to have more details after that. (One can make some guesses with these two pieces of news….) There was also a tweet mentioning Phan’s potential expansion to New York in 2012—hopefully more on that soon as well. 584 Valencia St. at 17th St.